Trump’s spending agenda could be a ‘recipe for disaster’, says NYU finance professor

President Donald Trump speaks about the gas attack in Syria as he and Jordan’s King Abdullah (not pictured) hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden after their meeting at the White House in Washington, April 5, 2017.

“I personally think that’s going to be risky because the timing is not going to be coherent. You spend money quickly, you raise a lot of debt, but it takes time for that to permeate down into the economy.”

The president, however, has a tough balance to strike, Altman noted. Failure to implement the proposed reforms could hurt markets, particularly in the near-term, after having been buoyed by the prospect of more accommodative business policies.

This pressure has become especially acute since the failure of the Republican’s health-care bill – seen by many as a litmus test for other overhauls.

“I wish him luck – but so far his track record is not very good,” Altman said.

“If that continues with tax policy, which is very complicated, then I think markets are going to say ‘things aren’t going to turn out as expected’ and I think we’re going to find that volatility that we were expecting,” he continued.